School is back in session, so I’ve started up my spin walks again. Really it is a matter of the temperature coming down and walks being pleasant in the morning, instead of a hot sticky mess.
Photo description: spinning Southdown wool on a 3D printed Turkish style spindle while walking a city park
I found two drop spindle projects in progress when I went to pick up my spindle. Hm. I decided to start with the Southdown, because this little Turkish style spindle is one of my favorites. If I drop it, the rubberized arms bounce, and the yarn is protected from contact with the ground due to the jacks like shape of the arms and shaft.
Photo description: Jade as a young hen, just started laying eggsPhoto description: Jade as an old hen, no longer egg laying and in molt
Chickens’ combs change, which makes using them as identification is tricky. When they are ready to lay eggs, the combs are bright red and full, when they are not in season, the combs loose color and mass. Above are two pictures of Jade the hen, the first when she was under a year old, the second at six years old. I can still count the tines, but other structures are more difficult to discern. Colored leg bands were the best identification for me, because I could see them at a distance, but they do need diligent maintenance. There is a technique of wing banding, where a skilled chicken farmer clips a small band through the web of the wing. I see now why breeders would prefer that more permanent method. A couple of my similar looking hens removed their plastic leg bands, then I couldn’t tell them apart anymore and rather gave up on the whole id part. I believe the last remaining unidentified Faverolle is Schmoo. Jade I identified by her molting pattern, and Seashell has a unique coloring. Wing Ding is still with us, and as the only Black Star hen, she is easy to identify, and very hard to ignore when she comes for her treats.
My Faverolle hens have started their fall molt. I can tell because Jade always looks like something took a chunk of her neck and gave her a good shake. Molting isn’t pretty.
Photo description: Faverolle hen in molt, with a large section of neck feathers mossing
On the plus side, this has allowed me to identify her as Jade. All three remaining Faverolles have removed their colored leg bands in the past couple years, and I know Seashell by sight, but Jade and Schmoo are harder to tell apart, except at molting. Jade is the only one that sheds all her neck feathers at once. Schmoo kept her leg band on the longest. None of the three lay eggs anymore. They are over six years old.
In April of 2015 I was making crocheted mushrooms. They are cute little things, and can be made using yarn scraps.
Photo description: four crocheted mushrooms with a size F (3.75mm) crochet hook
I added some embroidered elements with more scrap yarn. I like the french knots most. The caps of the mushrooms are removable. They stand up better if something small and heavy is placed inside the stem.
Photo description: same four crocheted mushrooms with. The caps removed
These mushrooms use standard amigurumi stitches, basically a single crochet stitch with increases and decreases for shaping and done with a much smaller hook than recommended for the yarn.
I am twining flax to make a loop and twist string bag. My source fiber was a strict of hackled flax: a bundle of long flax fibers. I should have spread the bundle out to make it easier to select a few fibers and pull them free without creating an unholy snarled mess. I’m learning.
Photo description: double handful of tangled flax fibers
To recover what I could, I combed the tangle with my wool combs (I don’t have a hackle, yet.) This exposed the untangled fibers so I draw them from the comb and keep twining.
Photo description: flax fibers combed with wool combs
I found another bundle of flax in my fiber stash, and am going to continue making my bag bigger, but will be more careful pulling the long line flax from the next strict.
Critters and Craft 